S-Matrix Theory

每次发明一种新的仪器，如望远镜或显微镜，使我们能够比以前更远或更短的距离观察我们的宇宙，它都会导致我们对自然的理解发生重大变化。建造的最强大的“显微镜”是位于欧洲核子研究中心的大型强子对撞机(LHC)。它将质子加速到接近光速，使它们相互碰撞，并记录为这种碰撞的产物。质子不是基本粒子，它们是由夸克和胶子组成的。大型强子对撞实际上是在夸克和胶子碰撞时发生的，这让我们能够比以往任何时候都更深入地了解基本粒子的结构。我们最好的自然理论是通过将它们的预测与大型强子对撞机的探测进行比较来检验的。这些预测传统上是使用一种称为费曼图的技术进行的。30年前，帕克和泰勒发现，这些计算中有一类非常特殊的计算，一开始有很多页长，后来被简化为单行表达式。在物理学中，这是某种新原理或新想法即将出现的迹象。

Every time a new instrument, such as the telescope or the microscope, is invented that allows us to observe our Universe at larger or shorter distances than before, it has led to important changes in our understanding of nature. The most powerful “microscope” ever constructed is the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), located at CERN. It accelerates protons to nearly the speed of light, makes them collide and records to product of such collisions. Protons are not elementary particles, they are made out of quarks and gluons. The LHC collisions actually happen when quarks and gluons collide, allowing us to see deeper into the structure of fundamental particles than ever before. Our best theories of natures are put to the test by comparing their predictions to the LHC detections. These predictions were traditionally made using a technique known as Feynman diagrams. Thirty years ago, Parke and Taylor found that a very special class of these computations starts out as many-pages long only to be simplified to single-line expressions. In physics, this is an indication that some new principle or idea is hiding around the corner.